Do-it-yourself tricks give new life to old dinnerware

Outdated table settings such as a stack of your grandmother's old plates can find fresh life with a little TLC. All it takes is a marker or a drill and a basic plan.

"I always find it a bit sad when things so loved by previous generations are thrown on the scrap heap," says lifestyle blogger Anna Nicholson, based in Yorkshire, England.

"I'm always looking for ways things can be reused, upcycled and overhauled to fit in with our 21st-century style."

Here are some ways to spruce up old china.

Use markers and paint

The popular craft-swapping website Pinterest is full of plate-decorating projects that tap into the "magic" of markers.

Nicholson, who blogs at www.angelinthenorth.com, uses Sharpies to personalize vintage floral plates. In one set, she adorned each plate with a letter of the word "EAT" to display in the kitchen. In another, she used four plates to spell out "HOME."

She prints her own letter cutouts, using the font Bodoni MT, onto thick paper or cardstock. She traces around the letters onto the old plates with a pen, then goes over the outline with a Sharpie and fills it in.

Others take the Sharpie idea to another level and - if the dishes are ovenproof - bake the marker on to make it permanent. Many crafting blogs call for drawing with a Sharpie and baking the ovenproof dish at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Christine Dinsmore, based in Portland, Ore., has used the Sharpie method for freehanding original drawings. On her blog, www.theplumednest.com, she shows how she drew monster pictures onto plates for her children.

"I would often see cute little dishes for children, but they were usually made out of plastic," Dinsmore says. She has tried to rid her kitchen of plastic "and didn't want to purchase any more."

Dinsmore advises using nontoxic Sharpie paint pens, found at most craft stores and online.

Other bloggers suggest ceramic or glass paint if the dish will have frequent contact with food.

On her blog, at theyarntotell.wordpress.com, Danielle Warner recommends Delta PermEnamel paint for a more painted - rather than drawn - look. It's also available at craft stores or online.

Chop it up

Sometimes, old china is no longer in one piece. But that shouldn't stop you from turning it into something special.

Do-it-yourselfer Ashley Hackshaw, who edits the blog www.lilblueboo.com, was inspired to find a use for chunks of a Tiffany vase that she had received as a wedding gift but later broke.

"I couldn't bear to throw away the beautiful pieces, so I decided to start making them into useful items," says Hackshaw, of Palm Desert, Calif.

Her answer: key chains.

Once you find a piece you like, the main job is to drill a hole and smooth the edges. You can use a household drill, using a carbide drill bit to make the hole, and sandpaper and steel wool for the edges.

Wear protective eyewear and dip the piece in water to keep it cool, Hackshaw says, or you can use a rotary tool and attachment set.

Then, just thread a key ring through the hole, and you have a meaningful and practical new use for an old chunk of china.

"One of my favorite gifts I've ever received was a key chain from my aunt that was made from one of my great-grandmother's old silverware pieces," Hackshaw says. "I knew it was something that I would keep forever and hand down to my daughter, and hopefully one day she would do the same. That gave me the idea about the broken vase."

Build something new

Marceli Botticelli of Franklin, Mass., runs an Etsy store at www.etsy.com/shop/TeaTimesCreations. It offers tiered stands, made of old china, that can be used as serving platters or tidbit trays for anything from jewelry to loose change or keys. She also sells jewelry and night lights made of repurposed table settings and teacups.

For the DIYer, Botticelli sells kits that come with drill bits, fittings and instructions. If you're too sheepish to drill your own holes into your precious antique plates, she offers to do it for you.

One client brought her a plate with an extremely rare pattern; the client had been collecting china since she was 8 and had never found another plate like it.

"I said a prayer, took a deep breath and I drilled into the plate," Botticelli said.

"Now it has a new lease on life and is not stacked with other plates in a closet."

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